The five-factor model of personality and depressive symptoms: One-year follow-up

This longitudinal study was designed to examine whether the pattern of depressive symptoms would be predictable from the personality factors profile of the five-factor model (FFM) among college students in Taiwan. A representative sample of 3,246 college students were recruited by a stratified and cluster sampling in 2003 and among them, 1,348 were followed in 2004. The participants completed Ko’s Depression Inventory and Shortened Chinese Version of the Five-Factor Inventory across the 2 years. The results of Canonical Correlation Analyses showed that the Affective–Cognitive Domain of Depression measured in the second year could be predicted by high Neuroticism combined with low Agreeableness, Extraversion, and Conscientiousness, referred to as the Depressive Personality assessed in the first year. The affective and cognitive depressive symptoms were stably related to Depressive Personality across 1 year. The mechanisms underlying this association are worthy of further investigation, and the results suggested a practical way for mental health workers to utilize the FFM and identify high risk groups that may later develop affective and cognitive depressive symptoms, and furthermore to design effective intervention strategies for college students.